One evening when Sophia is out with her colleagues, she gets a strange phone call from her mother who asks her to come back home. It is always the same and thus, she cuts her short and goes on amusing herself. The next morning, the bad conscience is nagging and she gets in the car to visit her parents. What she finds in their house is horrible: her mother hanging from a tree, her father badly injured. What happened? The police soon close the file, for them the case is clear: an extended suicide. But when Sophia find her mother’s diaries, she is convinced that her mother would never have attempted suicide. And what about the burglaries? Over months, her parents had been the victims of break-ins. The deeper Sophia digs in her mother Nina’s past, the more complex and strange things seem to be, but there are not many people who believe her.

Helen Callaghan caught me immediately. Even though the beginning leads into a completely different way, centring about Sophia’s work at an architectural agency, she soon accelerates and with the first part of Nina’s diary, I was completely absorbed by the novel.

The most striking part is definitely Nina’s past in the cult she joined as a student. It is a wonderful example of how easy it is to manipulate a young woman who lacks self-confidence and experience. Cleverly they approach her and they use the right amount of charm to trick her into their community. At the moment she arrives at their house, there is no way out anymore for her, she is already too deeply involved emotionally to think and act clearly.

The thriller is full of suspense, offering twists and turns at the perfect moment to keep the plot running on. The protagonist also seems to be quite authentic and you can easily sympathize with her.

I really enjoyed the novel, it is a most accomplished psychological thriller which leaves nothing to be desired.

How true the title is! The story of Sophia, and the secret past of her mother, Nina. Lots of surprises, secrets, and a cult, make for an interesting read. Nicely plotted, and some unusual characters.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel from start to end. Highly recommended

An interesting read that gripped from the very beginning. Fascinating to think about how a cult might operate and entice people into their grip. .

Absolutely bloody brilliant! Sophia wants her life, her freedom to be able to make her choices. Parents can be needy and definitely taken for granted. Normality one day, and then the next it’s all gone. What do you do? You refuse to believe the evidence, so you start digging and unearth not just a can of worms but years of lies and deceit. Cults, murder, love & thrills. It’s all in here, a must read.

A suspense thriller where you don't know until the last page, who are the victims and who are the villains
An intriguing read and suspenseful page turner. with strong characters and even those who you imagined to be weak might actually be stronger than you thought.
An open and shut case for the police of murder suicide, but not for Sophie the daughter who finds her mothers journals and discovers nothing is as it seems - it is all lies

Sophia has made a life for herself away from her parent’s business, but a strange call from her mum brings her home the following day to find her mum hanging from a tree and her dad critically injured. This book has a great opening which pulls you straight in, I found Sophia to be extremely likeable and I was with her every step of the way in her search for the truth.
Sophia finds notebooks that her mum has written and realises her whole upbringing has been a lie, I enjoyed these parts of the book and found the narrative to have a lovely flow which made me want to keep reading. Although at times I found myself wanting to give her mum Nina a good shake – how could see not see what was going on?! – it was infuriating but in the best way – it kept me hooked. Sophia’s search for the truth of what may or may not have happened is well done and there are plenty of twists and turns.
There were a couple of things that frustrated me, without giving anything away, there were a couple of unresolved issues that are still bothering me, but overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, it was fast paced, full of intrigue and I was never sure what was coming next. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for letting me have a copy to review

Sophia comes back to her family home from London after a worrying call from her mother. When she gets there the house is deserted. She is totally unprepared to find her father seriously injured with stab wounds & her mother hanging dead from a tree in the garden.

As she waits for her father to regain consciousness she finds two notebooks filed with her mother's accounts of her life when she was just starting at University.

This story is told from two perspectives. From Sophia in the present & from her mother, Nina, in the past.

Nina's tale is of a young girl who gets herself into a situation she cannot handle when she follows an enigmatic rock star to his community seeking enlightenment. Totally obsessed with him she throws herself into this cult body & soul until something happens to break the spell.

This is a side Sophia has never seen of her mother. She discovers the Nina was planning to publish her memoirs and the publisher wants the third notebook which explains why she left.

I wanted to shake Nina sometimes, although I can understand why she joined the cult- her parents were truly awful! This was a great read- my thanks to Netgalley & the publishers.

A good book to get lost into. The storyline kept me hooked right from the start and I love a book that can keep me totally absorbed from start to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I hadn't been enamoured with Dear Amy, I could take it or leave it but I was intrigued with the synopsis of this book. I am so glad that I took another chance on Helen Callaghan as this book surpasses her previous, in my opinion.

I loved the character development within this book. I started off with a disliking for Sophia but ended the book feeling a lot differently but I found this was the case with many of the characters. The story is constantly deceiving the reader so the truth, when it is finally unravelled, is a huge shock.

This is a story which stays with you long after the final page. One of my favourite books of the year so far,

Another excellent book from a talented author. It kept me wanting to turn the page. Well written with a twist I did not see coming

This thriller keeps you guessing until the end what the real truth is. When Sophie is hit by the suicide of her mother and what appears to be the attempted murder of her father her world is turned upside down. She discovers 2 of her mother Nina's diaries and the story switches between Sophie's attempts to discover the truth of what really happened that day her mother died and the diaries which tell of her involvement in a cult which Sophie soon realised might hold the key to the truth, There were parts of the book that seemed to drag on too long and I felt were unnecessary to the story and I found myself skipping through till I reached a more interesting part. That said this is a really good story with a twist at the end that comes suddenly and unexpectedly when Sophie finds the remaining diary.

A good modern thriller with many twists and turns. Sophia returns home to her parents run down garden centre. Her mother has committed suicide and her father has been stabbed. Sophia finds the notebooks, her mother used to write in and upon reading them discovers everything in her life is lies! Read on!

This book needs to be a movie. I want to watch this book come to life… and why? Callaghan paints an incredible setting, full of suspense, questions, ups, downs… I just want to see it alive. I can already picture the actors and actresses. It needs to be done!

No-one is who you think they are

Sophia’s parents lead quiet, unremarkable lives. At least that is what she’s always believed.

Everyone has secrets

Until the day she arrives at her childhood home to find a house ringing with silence. Her mother is hanging from a tree. Her father is lying in a pool of his own blood, near to death.

If you love Sophie Hannah or S.J Watson, then you’ll love Callaghan’s work. I could not stop reading this until I was finished because I just had to know. The Story is told by Sophia in the present and also by her mother (Nina) in the past, through the notebooks that Sophia discovers. The characters throughout are just brilliant and wildly descriptive. I defy you to read this and not want to see this play out on the big screen!

This is one of those thrillers that makes you question everything you know about people.
As the story unravels Sophia learns that she never truly knew her parents, and that everything she thought she knew about their life was a lie
This is an intriguing story and I really could not put it down. Thoroughly loved the twists and turns.
Enjoyable read, going from present to past to keep you interested. Very believable plot that you can relate to and consider how easily it can happen. Great twist at the end that I hadn’t seen coming. My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A well written book, with many twists and turns and many of them captivating and heartbreaking. A little slow in places but noneteless an extremley good read.. Recommended.

Everything Is Lies, is one of those thrillers that makes you start to question everything you know about people. Who knows that we're being told the truth? Who knows what secrets lie in the past, waiting to jump out and redefine everything we held as TRUTH. We rely on those we love to be honest, but ... sometimes ... that's just not the case.
Sophia is having a nice time at a work's party, when she gets a strange call from her mother asking her to come home. Knowing how needy her mum's always been, Sophia digs her heels in. After all, her mum needs to let her go. She needs to let Sophia get on with her own life, instead of trying to keep her glued to their small homestead business in the middle of nowhere.
Wracked with guilt the next day, Sophia drives down to see her parents only to find her mother hanging from a tree and her father seriously injured and barely alive, beside her. The police become convinced that it's an attempted murder /suicide. but, Sophia's not convinced. She knows her mother couldn't commit a violent act like this.
Whilst waiting for her father to waken from his coma, Sophia discovers that what she believed about her mother isn't the truth and from here the story branches into two timelines; one telling the ongoing events in Sophia's life as she struggles to discover what really happened that night and the other following her mum's strange upbringing and involvement in a cult
Callaghan delivers the two timelines very effectively and the story is dotted with enough red herrings and possible 'bad guys' to keep me riveted. I was fascinated with the whole idea of someone's existence being turned on its head.
Sleight of hand by the author make sure we're always slightly off footed in this fast paced read.

This is Helen Callaghan's second book, and it does not disappoint.
Sophia is living her own life away from her parents, happy to be free from her mothers anxious overbearing love. On a night out she recieves a call from her mum asking her to come home urgently, but she dismisses it as her mum being needy. This is the last time she will ever speak to her as not long after her mother is found hanged and her father is fighting for his life from stab wounds to the stomach. As the story unravels Sophia learns that she never truly knew her parents, and that everything she thought she knew about their life was a lie.
This is an intriguing story and I really could not put it down. I think the twist in the tale was a bit obvious but it didnt spoil my enjoyment. I really would recommend this book.

Helen Callaghan always delivers. I discovered her first book last year and devoured it in two days. Her second piece didn’t fail to disappoint. Thoroughly loved the twists and turns. Would definitely recommend to friends

Whoa.....well I wasn’t expecting that at all!... this book certainly takes you on a journey and a thrilling one at that I absolutely loved it.
Thrilling gripping and a very unexpected twist it was fantastic.